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Finding Small Business Grants for Women
For women and minorities who want to start their own small business, the biggest roadblocks to success are insufficient finances. In order to pay rent for storefronts, production of homemade materials, marketing, and payroll, many women will put a second mortgage on their house or go into deep credit card debt. However, risking the future of family finances often does not pay off for women, as many small businesses fail within their first year.
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Taking such a risk isn’t always necessary, however, and women who want to turn their hobby or vocation into a small business need to look to business grants. While many television commercials and books promise business grants for women who own a small business, it can be tough to find the right grant. The first, and perhaps most important, fact that woman entrepreneurs should understand about federal government grants is that they almost entirely go to high-tech companies that are aiming for a government contract. For more information on these types of grants, go to the Small Business Administration at http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/index.html. However, there are plenty of state government and private industry grants available for women in small business.
Finding the Right Grant
Government and private grants given to small businesses run by women are often specific to a certain industry. For those starting health care businesses, applying for a grant through Bristol Meyers Foundation increases the chance of receiving a business grant. Women who are starting small businesses involved in accounting can go through the Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting for a business grant, with a great chance at success. Finding the right grant is primarily about applying to organizations that are interested in funding further development of ideas and practices within a certain industry. After all, while business grants don’t necessarily have strings attached, granting organizations do need to see some sort of professional benefit from the small business they are providing money to. Women and minority small business owners, interested in getting their business off the ground, should go to Funds Net Services, available at http://www.fundsnetservices.com/women.htm. Another website available to women in small business looking for development or startup grant money is Digital Women, available at http://www.digital-women.com/women-grants.html.
Typical Criteria for Business Grants
After determining a plan of action as regards targeted business grants, women and minority owners need to make a checklist of criteria for each grant. Every business grant has its own specific guidelines based on corporate or government grant requirements, but there are a few essential criteria for government grants for women and minority business owners. For startup businesses by women and minority owners, grant applications typically require a full accounting of startup costs, a mission statement that is well thought out, and a list of objectives for the first month, year, and five years. In this way, a grant committee can see the direction and organization of a small business before they provide it a business grant.
For small businesses run by women or minorities that have just started and want additional funding, the aforementioned information is still required. However, granting organizations will also require examples of business success in order to show that the business is worth the business grant investment. Providing references to clients, tangible evidence of successful projects, and any other evidence that a small business is going in the right direction are often necessary for developmental business grants. Finally, business grants for small business run by women and minorities often require an explanation or proof that this small business has a chance for greater success in the future.
Increasing Success in Grant Applications
Women and minority owned small businesses interested in receiving business grant money need to stand out from their competition. After all, there are thousands of small business applications for every grant available, and grant committees need to find small businesses that really stand out. There are a number of ways in which women and minorities can increase their chances of receiving business grant money.
Small business owners can do a number of administrative tasks during the grant application to ensure their materials get to the right people. Ensuring that every section of a grant application is included in the application package is an important step. Providing every piece of supporting evidence and materials is also an important step to getting applications to the grant committee. Finally, proofreading and fact checking all responses can help minority and woman business owners ensure that grant committees will take a grant application seriously.
Minority and woman small business owners can also utilize the grant application process to show the potential of their particular enterprise. Small business owners should select a few grant organizations to apply to instead of sending out watered-down applications to many different government and private organizations. While staying within the word limits of grant applications, minority and woman business owners should be as meticulous as possible in proving their company’s potential success in the short and long term. Finally, government and private grant organizations are always looking for a combination of the cutting edge and financially viable. Minority and woman owners need to find this balance in order to receive the business grant money they need for small business success.
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